Part of the appeal of the Suzuki Swift lies in its value for money. You might not have the roomiest or most comfortable small car, but you certainly get a lot for your £12,699.

Using a pence-per-mile running cost calculation, the Swift works out at 23.83ppm over four years/80,000 miles, compared with a Ford Fiesta Ecoboost Titanium, at 25.62p.

It’s true that Ford might be able to offer a fleet a bigger discount for volume on a Fiesta than Suzuki would, as a smaller player in the market.But even so, the Fiesta is £15,795 on the road, so Ford would need to reach deep into its pockets to offset the Swift’s £3,000-plus price advantage.

And, of course, pricing the Fiesta to match the Swift’s level of equipment is likely to make the gap more difficult to close.

Add navigation (which is combined with a Sony audio upgrade) to the Fiesta (£400), electric rear windows (£175), the convenience pack (which includes keyless entry and push-button start for £425) and a rear centre headrest (£50) and the Fiesta’s price rises to £16,845.

What the Suzuki doesn’t offer at the moment are some safety features that are available as options on the Fiesta, such as autonomous emergency braking, which can be selected for £200.